Girls Basketball: St Ignatius holds off host Willowbrook

Updated: January 13, 2012 8:19PM

The opening game of Willowbrook’s 22nd Annual McDonald’s Shootout was tied, time was ticking away, and St. Ignatius guard Gena Lenti had the ball in her hands.

One screen-and-roll later, the Wolfpack (11-7) had a 48-45 win over the host Warriors (8-10).

Wolfpack junior Alyse Belavic set a screen for Lenti, who dribbled to the corner and found a rolling Belavic open under the basket for the game’s winning basket. Belavic was fouled on the play and her free throw with 5.9 seconds left ended the night’s scoring.

“We run that play in practice all the time,” Lenti said. “After she set the screen I saw two players coming at me and I knew Alyse would be (open).”

St. Ignatius came out frigid from the field as Willowbrook built a 13-5 lead through eight minutes, getting four points apiece from sisters Molly and Colleen Krawczykowski and a three-point play from Anita Sterling. Lenti scored all five of the Wolfpack’s points in the quarter.

The Wolfpack picked up their defensive intensity and senior Mariah Harris found her shot in the second quarter, scoring nine of her 11 points in the quarter to punctuate a 17-9 scoring edge for St. Ignatius that had the game tied 22-22 at halftime.

“We didn’t really come out to play and I knew I had to focus on all my shots,” Harris said. “We underestimated (Willowbrook) and we weren’t playing to our potential.”

St. Ignatius led 41-32 after three quarters but Willowbrook battled back in the fourth. Three-pointers from Molly Krawczykowski and Angela Bruno, and four free throws from Sterling drew the Warriors even at 45-45 with 19.4 seconds left to play.

That’s when Belavic rolled to the basket and Lenti found her for the game-winner.

Molly Krawczykowski paced Willowbrook with 11 points while teammate Cherise Porter led all players with 10 rebounds. Lenti led all scorers with 14 points while Belavic had 11 points and seven rebounds on the night.

“She does all of the little things that go unnoticed for us,” Wolfpack head coach Angie Brown said of Belavic. “She’s always in the right spot and I think her defense and her help make a huge difference for us.”

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